This is me.....Then

A lifestyle blog dedicated to what I am interested in and what I stand for at a particular point and time in my life. I mainly focus on the topics of personal finance, relationships, health and spirituality.

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Monday, January 8, 2018

I started a Google discussion group back in 2010 with a few of my associates, friends and family members. The name of this discussion group was Life Talk and it's purpose was just to share thoughts and opinions about life. Typically, someone would ask a question or share a thought with the discussion group and interested parties would answer/comment. I recently came across one of these posts and decided to share some of the archives over the coming weeks.

This post was titled, "God's Favor." I am including the original question and the response that I gave.

18 June 2012 - Question

It's something we should all be familiar with hearing about especially those of us who grew up in the church. You've heard people mention how these wonderful things happened for them b/c they have "GOD's FAVOR".

So I wonder what exactly is God's Favor? How is it determined who receives God's favor? Do you think it's luck of the draw? Either you're born with it or not? Is it reserved for an elite few? If so, what happens to all the rest of us who don't have the favor of God? Do we just have to go about life living it however we see fit and just deal with the outcome?

I'm curious to know what you guys think of it.

12 July 2012 - My Response

I think that favor is two-fold. There is unmerited favor that you get, but may not necessarily deserve, and there is favor that you have gotten based on your actions/faith, etc. (which, still you may or may not deserve).

Within these two types of favor, I think there is also an element of how you look at and interpret "favor."

I was listening to an advice show online (Dr. Laura) earlier this week and there was a lady (Lisa) on there who had an incredible story.

Lisa was born to a prostitute mother and an unknown father. Her mom tried to abort her, but the abortion clinic would not allow it because she had already had 20 abortions prior. The lady survived utero (in the belly) beatings by her mom’s pimp, but was born healthy. While Lisa was a baby, her mom abandoned her (and the pimp). Her mom’s pimp left Lisa on the steps of one of his relatives, who didn’t really want her but raised her off-and-on until adulthood. Lisa told stories of how the relative would just put her out on the streets when she didn’t feel like being bothered and for much of her teenage years, she was homeless….sleeping in the band room at school or at friend’s houses whose parents felt bad for her.

In a strange twist of events, Lisa was smart…..very smart….and she found acceptance and validation in teachers who appreciated and praised her hard work. Lisa graduated salutatorian of her high school class and received scholarships and student loans to go away to college and support herself…..through graduate school. When she graduated her Master’s program, she got a top notch job as an aerospace engineer. She used the money she earned to get eye surgery (oh yeah…..she was also born, legally blind), get her own house and begin paying off her student loans.

Lisa called the radio show for two reasons.

1)She was recently put up for a promotion at her job, which required she get a top security clearance from the government. While all the background checks and tests were being performed, she found out that she had herpes, which she had from birth…..and was the cause of her previous eyesight issues. She had never had any outbreaks, so never knew she had this until these tests were performed. Ever since she found this out, all the old memories of her as a baby began flooding back to her and making her depressed. She didn’t know what to do?

2)While her job as an aerospace engineer was financially rewarding and had done well in making her a more balanced person, Lisa felt that she had a greater calling in life. She wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do, but knew it involved helping other people throughout the world to overcome (esp. in 3rd world countries) their hardships. Her issue was that she still had all these outstanding student loans to pay off and wasn’t sure what to do or how to transition into a whole new field.

Of course, Dr. Laura gave her advice and offered her encouragement and praise, but that is not the point of my story, so I will overlook the advice given. My point is to use this story to illustrate my point. Did Lisa have God’s favor or was she one of those people left out in the cold? Lisa had a very, very, very challenging life. More difficult than any of us have experienced.

However, she was alive, had all of her limbs, was intelligent, an overall good person and a survivor. Isn’t that God’s favor? Aren’t there people on respirators or people who can’t speak or comprehend what’s going on around them? What did Lisa or any of her absentee parents/family do to deserve this favor? What about those people she wants to help in the 3rd world countries? She’s way better off than them. Why was she able to escape those circumstances and be born in America, where she can create her own destiny, per se.? (Unmerited Favor)

Given her circumstances, Lisa could have easily given up on life. She, herself, could have decided to become a prostitute to support herself as a young teen. She could have drowned her problems with booze and drugs. However, she chose to work hard and survive. Had she done some of the aforementioned things, she could be dead now. She could have AIDS. She could be in jail or she could be sleeping on the streets. Instead, she has a good job, a nice home and clear eyesight. While, things could’ve turned out differently, her faith and actions helped to put her in a place where her life improved tremendously….and is a lot better than some of the people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths and parents that pampered them until the very end. (somewhat Merited Favor)

The third part of this is the interpretation. Would you say that Lisa did not have God’s favor as a child because she went through all these things or would you say that it was part of God’s favor that chose her to go through all of these things, so that she could be used for his glory and have an impact on thousands of people? Perhaps she wouldn’t have gotten as far as she has gotten, if she had grown up in a functional family. Perhaps she would’ve been self-centered and not considered others and what they needed.....and no one would be saved.

Friday, December 1, 2017

It all started when I was 5 years old. After lunch, we had to go back to our classroom, sit at a shared round table and rest our heads on the desk. The little boy across the table whispered my name, “Faunya.” He motioned for me to look under the table and I did. I was shocked and appalled at what he had to show me. I grimaced and rested my head back on the table, avoiding eye and physical contact with this little boy for the rest of the school year.

20 years later, I had brought my first home. I was a single women in NY with a good job and a property in her name. The one problem was that my expenses doubled. Luckily, I was a single woman in NY, so it wasn’t very difficult for me to find a way to make extra money on the side. I trained to be a tax preparer and was hired by Jackson Hewitt to work in a newly opened office on the upper west side of Harlem. My boss was a minister, a husband and a father of 5 children. He was also a cheater. During the slow days, we had plenty of time to talk and our conversations ranged from work to God to marriage and everything in between. He always made small innuendos that let me know that he found me attractive and would be interested in more than just work-related interactions with me, but I would always pretend that I didn’t notice or just otherwise let him know that I was not interested.

However, one night after a long day of filing taxes, he offered to take myself and few of my other colleagues out to dinner. Unfortunately, I am horrible at turning down free food. We had a fun night of eating and conversation at a soul food spot in Harlem. He then offered to drop me off and I agreed. Once we arrived in the front of my building, we talked for a little while in the car and then he tried to kiss me. I pushed him away and said that it was time for me to get going. He offered to make sure I made it into my apartment safely and I agreed. As foolish as it was, I agreed. He didn’t just walk me to my door, but also found his way into my apartment. Again, he started to come on to me physically by touching and kissing, etc. While I was clearly the weaker being, I exerted enough strength to push him away or at least make it difficult for him to continue. While I did make it verbally clear that I was not interested at all and that he should be at home with his family, I chose my words (and actions) very carefully. I had no intention of leaving or losing my job. He tried to smooth talk me some more and ‘make it difficult for me to say no,’ but after realizing that it wasn’t going to work, he lamented and left.

Were there moments in our interaction where I felt pressure? Yes. Were there moments in our interaction where I felt a pang of fear? Yes. Was I foolish for letting this man in my house? Yes. Did I want to have sex with this married man? No. If I had not pushed him off and allowed him to have sex with me, would that be considered rape?

According to many of the accounts that have been released lately, yes. According to my personal account, I’m not so sure. I would have gone along with something I really didn’t want to do and I’m sure that I would’ve felt ashamed and deeply regretted it. However, I don’t know that I could say that I was raped.

I recently shared an article on Facebook about how we need to teach our sons how to NOT rape. This is true, but more importantly, we need to teach our sons about respect and mutual desires. In my opinion, Russell Simmons is not guilty of rape. He is guilty of being a jerk and not caring if the woman he had sex with was mutually desiring to engage with him.

There is a very thin line and I think that if we teach our boys (I don’t have any sons, but you get the picture) to respect themselves and to value themselves enough to not have any interest in having sex with someone who is less than interested in having sex with them, then there wouldn’t be any confusion in knowing if they raped someone or not.

We need to teach our girls how to make wise decisions, how to respect their bodies and the meaning of consent. When someone is trying to do something to you that you do not want, it is our job as women to make it clear that you are not consenting to their actions. If we are passive, then we are allowing these men who have no respect for us and our bodies to take advantage of us. Our inaction is our consent.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

In March 2009, I copied and pasted a wish list in my Facebook notes, entitled "What I Want...."
A year earlier, I had written this and posted it to MySpace, but when MySpace became lame, I decided that it was time to move my list of wants to a platform where everyone was starting to switch to....Facebook

At the time, I was dating, 'in love' and almost 30 years old. At the time, my mom was struggling with cancer and eventually succumbed a little over 3 months later. I felt that I was ready for marriage and this is what I felt that I wanted:

WHAT I WANT....

Love, Unconditionally.

Someone who is able to accept me for who I am today and while accepting my current standing, is able to support my future growth.

Someone who is able to speak for and think for themselves.

Someone who accepts their own life, while constantly striving to become better.

Maturity. Someone who is able to accept that yesterday is gone, will never return again and is better off that way.

Truthfulness to God, myself, themselves and everyone around them.

Someone who adores me, wants to please me, spend time with me and appreciates the woman that I am.

Someone who looks out for and can protect me.

Someone who is always there when I need them....even if there is nothing they can do to help me....they are there, supporting me every step of the way...trying.

Someone who finds me worth it....worth giving up relationships that pull us apart....worth accepting a new life in place of the old....worth going against the popular vote to express their love and dedication towards me....worth enduring ridicule for something/someone they believe in.
Today, I am a 39 year old woman with a husband and two daughters. While I still love this list (not much has changed), I randomly was thinking of my wish list the other day and posted the following:

- Someone with incredible character and integrity
- Someone who both amazes me and thinks I'm magic
- Someone with confidence
- Someone that makes me better and inspires me to be better
- Someone who loves to learn and is always working towards growth*
- A partner, an asset, a covering.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
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in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
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I'm from New York City and he is from the country bumpkin outskirts of Southern New Jersey. When we married, the only logical thing to do was to find a home that would serve as a half-way point to our families and commutes to work (Check out my About Me page). We chose Central New Jersey. His commute was 40 minutes each way. My commute was approximately 2 hours each way. Hardly a half way point, but we made it work.Three years later, we had a baby girl and named her Selah. She is one of God's greatest gifts to me and I knew thatgoing back to work after the customary 3 months was not going to work for me. So, I took 6 months off. Then, I went back part-time.....for a month. Then my typical weekday life began to play out like this:-------

4:55am - I wake up, read a bible verse and
commentary on my First 5 app and write my thoughts on the subject.

5:00am -
I go to the bathroom, shower, brush my teeth, etc. If I have time and if
I remember, I will spend 5 minutes doing a quick 'swish and swash' to maintain
the cleanliness of our bathroom.

5:30am -
I get my clothes out and iron them and otherwise prepare myself to get dressed.

5:45am
- Our darling Selah is usually up by now, so I let her sit on the
potty for a while before washing her up and getting her dressed.

6:00am -
I get dressed and prepare to leave.

6:15am -
My alarm goes off. That means I need to finish wrapping up any loose
ends, kiss my family goodbye and head out the door. I walk 1/2 mile to
the bus. I usually listen to a sermon podcast during my morning
commute. (TD Jakes,
Joyce Meyer & Rick Warren are my favorites.)

6:35am -
I catch the 606 to Hamilton Rail Station and wait for the train.

6:56am -
I continue listening to my podcast, check emails, look at social media and
sleep during my train ride into NYC.

7:15am -
My husband drops our daughter off at daycare and then heads to work
himself. He changed jobs 6 months ago, so his commute is now about 20
minutes.

7:58am -
Although the train is scheduled to arrive in New York Penn Station at 7:58am,
it rarely does. Either way, once I get off of the train, I walk
approximately 2 miles to my job. In extreme weather conditions, I
catch the subway.

8:00am -
My husband arrives at work and sends me a text to let me know he made it there
safely.

8:20am -
I arrive at work, text my husband, make my tea and then get to work!

12:30pm
- I usually take a lunch break at this time. My lunch break typically
consists of running errands and then scarfing food down my throat while I work
because my lunch break is over. Sometimes I do the opposite. I'll
eat food at my desk while I work, then I'll leave the job and run errands
during my lunch break.

5:00pm -
I pack up my bags and I head home, starting with a 2 mile walk back to the NJ
Transit Station. I usually listen to an educational podcast during
my commute home. At the current time, my only exception is Serial.
Every other podcast I listen to is spiritual or educational in some way.

5:28pm -
I catch my train home. If I wasn't able to complete my work, I may pull
out my laptop on the train. Otherwise, I use this time to catch up on
emails, social media and reading. I always text my husband to let
him know I'm on the train.

6:29pm -
I arrive at Hamilton Station. Either my husband picks me up (after picking up our daughter)
and we ride home together or my husband picks up my daughter and starts dinner,
while I catch the 6:58pm bus.

6:45pm/7:15pm
- If I catch the bus, I get home between 7:15pm and 7:30pm. We eat dinner
as a family as soon as I get in.

7:30pm -
After dinner, I may spend 5 minutes clearing off plates and then I give the
baby about 15 minutes to digest her food.

7:45pm -
I run the bath water, bathe, lotion, dress, pray and put the baby to
sleep. Our target bed time is 8:00pm, but we run behind some weekdays and
she goes to bed closer to 8:30pm (but
rarely after 9pm).

8:30pm -
I spend about 30 minutes straightening up (when
I have the energy to do so) and then I have about an hour before
it's time for me to wrap things up and get to bed.

10:00pm
- This is my 'bed time.' I read a scripture or lesson of some sort, say
my prayers and hit the sack.

-------So, as you can see, my weekdays are pretty jam packed. In a typical week, I only get to spend 1-2 hours with my daughter on any given weekday (This excludes Wednesday, since I work from home on Wednesdays.)When I think of those numbers, I feel a bit bad because it's hard to imagine how anyone could consider a way to balance work, life and motherhood with this type of schedule. However, I make it work and this is how I do it.

Much to my husband's dismay, I prioritize spending time with my family over cleaning the house. I also prioritize spending time with my family over spending time with colleagues and friends, as well as pursuing time-consuming projects outside of the home. I also prioritize spending time with my family over the many beauty regimens I used to have pre-baby (ie. bi-weekly hair salon visits, which now only happen once a quarter).

I cherish those early morning and before bed times with my precious little angel. People may think that I'm extra because I massage her with lotion every night and hug and kiss and rock her after we say our prayers and before I put her in the crib. Well, I don't care! These are the memories you remember. I still remember my mom laying between my sister and I every night when we were little kids and reciting the Lord's Prayer with us.

I talk to her. Every morning, I ask how her night was. Every evening, I ask how her day in school was. She's not able to fully articulate her responses yet, but she does respond. She knows that mommy cares and mommy tries to incorporate herself in every aspect of her life.....including her dreams.

The weekends are hers! Yes, my husband and I have occasional date nights when we hire a babysitter, so that we can paint the town red. Yes, we take full advantage when her day care offers Parent's Night Out events where they keep her until 9:30pm on a Friday night. However, those are far and few between and rarely more than once a month. On the weekends, we plan activities with her and we spend time at home with her. We eat every meal together and we pray before every meal together. We dance together and we laugh together. We watch the same old Sesame Street clips together and we color together.

So, how do you balance being a full-time working woman (with an extreme commute) and motherhood? You don't! You take it one day at a time, you do everything unto God and you make sure that you prioritize the time you do have.To be honest, I probably will cut my hours at some point or increase my work-from-home days in the near future.....especially if I have a second child. One of the reasons I focus so much on personal finance is because I would love to be in a place where it wasn't about the money. I would love to be in a place where I could take an even longer time from work of cut my hours to part-time (I probably would never be a stay-at-home mom, even if I could afford it.) and not have to worry about how we will pay our bills each month. However, we are not there YET. So for now, I juggle the best way I know how.How about you? How do you balance motherhood and working? If you're not a working mom, how do you balance motherhood and other responsibilities? Tips and ideas are always welcomed!

-------

This post is part of a blog hop where a group of bloggers are all sharing on similar topics (Working Mom, How to Balance). To find more inspiration, check out these awesome blogs:

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts
in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
notification for each post made.Thanks
for visiting!This post may contain
affiliate links.

I have one of the same goals in 2016 as I had in 2015.

Read one book per month.

It worked well for me last year, though I did miss a few months, and I would
like to continue this same goal this year.

In December 2015, I started a book called I Will Teach You To Be Rich. This book is written by
Ramit Sethi and is described as a 6-week personal finance program that
works. I continued this book in January 2016, but still have a few more
chapters to finish.Because it is a book
that requires action and I have been reviewing each chapter on my blog, it is
taking longer than usual to complete.Therefore,
one of my reads for February 2016 is I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

​​​​​As
part of our Christmas tradition, there are two items that the people in
my household receives every Christmas eve.
1) Pajamas
2) A book

The second book that my husband gave me is entitled, Make It Happen: Surrender Your Fear. Take the Leap. Live on Purpose., by Lara Casey.I’ve never heard of this book or author, but
apparently it got 4 ½ out of 5 stars on Amazon.Also, a very popular lifestyle blogger (Mattie James of Mattieologie.com)
mentioned this on her Periscope about her list of "to read" books for
2016.Judging by these indications, I think
this’ll be a good one to read.Plus, my
husband clearly has an idea of the things I struggle with and is attempting to
provide me with assistance in overcoming my fears and taking the leap. JI will definitely give a full review once I
am done.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts
in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
notification for each post made.Thanks
for visiting!This post may contain
affiliate links.

FACT: You cannot become rich wealthy without controlling your spending....consciously.I cross out rich because, in my eyes, rich is temporary and is seldom beneficial long term. Many athletes, celebrities and lottery winners are rich, but if they do not practice conscious spending, then they are not rich for long.According to a 2010 study by researchers at Vanderbilt University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Pittsburgh, the more money you win in the lottery, the more likely you are to end up bankrupt. As a matter of fact, according to this study published in The Review of Economics and Statistics, many of them become bankrupt within 5 years of scoring a big win.The average professional athlete in the United States will make more in one season than most of us earn in our entire lives. However, according to Wyatt Investment Research, 78% of NFL players, 60% of NBA players and a large percentage of MLB players file bankruptcy within five years of retirement.Most people's stinking thinking causes them to assume that they are broke because they don't make enough money. However, according to my research, more money does not fix financial problems.What does, then? CONSCIOUS SPENDINGOf course I'm oversimplifying things a bit. However, if you read any of the articles or books about the habits of wealthy people with a net worth over a million (especially those who had modest income levels during their working years), you will find that one of the main ways they were able to save and invest their way into millions was to consciously spend on the money they earned, so that a large portion of it could be used to build their wealth.

In chapter 4 of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi focuses on conscious spending. Although Ramit calls it conscious spending and says that he doesn't use budgets, the bottom line is that he does.....and you need to, as well, if you want to be rich and win with money. He says that conscious spending is deciding where you want to spend your money up front, instead of spending it on random things here and there. Deciding what you don't love and are not that important to you, so that you can cut back mercilessly on those things, in order to have money to spend luxuriously on those things that are important to you.So here are the steps that Ramit suggests to create a Conscious Spending Plan:Step 1: Create 4 major buckets where your money will go.

Step 2: List every expense that you can think of that falls under the 'Fixed cost' category and fill in the dollar amounts for each. A good rule of thumb is that your fixed costs should be 50-60% of your take-home pay. Once you've gotten all your expenses filled in, add 15% for unexpected expenditures or items you may have overlooked. According to Ramit, a flat 15% will cover you for things you haven't figured in and you can get more accurate as time goes on.Once you've got a fairly accurate number here, subtract it from your take-home pay. Now you'll know how much you'll have left over to spend in the other categories. Plus, you'll have an idea of a few targeted expense areas that you can cut down on to give yourself more money to save, invest and do the other things you love (See how this kind of sounds like a budget to me?).Step 3: A good rule of thumb is to invest 10% of your take-home pay for the long-term. For the record, long-term investing typically means 401(k), Roth IRA and other retirement-type savings vehicles. Calculate the amount and automate it.Step 4: Short-term savings could be things like Christmas gifts, a vacation, a wedding or a down payment on a house. This should be no more than 5-10% of your take home pay.Calculate the amounts for the various accounts and automate a separate savings account for each.Step 5: Feel free to spend whatever is left on whatever tickles your fancy! If you want to use that money to invest more, do it. If you prioritize travel over early retirement, hit up every country in the world. Sky is the limit! You can spend guilt free because all of your obligations are already taken care of. (Word to the wise: Just don't overdraft)I should mention that if you don't make enough to fit in these to categories, you need to do one of two things:

Find a way to cut back some of your expenses.

Find a way to make more money.

Ramit offers some great ideas in his book on cutting expenses, negotiating higher salaries and freelancing.Read my previous blogs for more information about Ramit Sethi's, I Will Teach You To Be Rich. Below is an outline of the topics covered in previous chapters and a link to my blog post about each chapter/topic.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts
in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
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for visiting!This post may contain
affiliate links.

Chalene Johnson, the best-selling author of Push: 30 Days to Turbocharged Habits, a Bangin' Body, and the Life You Deserve!, has just released a 90-Day system and accompanying workbook/planner that promises to teach you how to set a PUSH goal and achieve all of your goals in 90 days or less! According to the website, Chalene’s workbook takes you step-by-step through the process of setting goals for the key areas of life as well as how to set a PUSH Goal – a goal that makes all your other goals possible. It will help you map a course of action, so you know exactly what you need to do every day to achieve all of your goals in 90 Days or less!

Last week, Chalene provided an overview of the process on Periscope and provided FREE access to a PDF version of the workbook, which also set-up like a 90-day planner. I am excited to start this process and would like to invite YOU to try this 90-day goal achievement process with me! If interested, fill out the form below and I will send you a link to obtain the PDF version of the workbook, as well as add you to my private Facebook group where we will be able to share experiences and encourage one another along the way.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts
in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
notification for each post made.Thanks
for visiting!This post may contain
affiliate links.

I have one of the same goals in 2016 as I had in 2015.

Read one book per month.It worked well for me last year, though I did miss a few months, and I would like to continue this same goal this year.In December 2015, I started a book called I Will Teach You To Be Rich. This book is written by Ramit Sethi and is described as a 6-week personal finance program that works. Needless to say, there are only four weeks in a month, so I still have a few more chapters to finish before I complete this book. Therefore, one of my reads for January 2016 is I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Welcome to This is
me…..Then!If you like what you see, subscribe here for free
updates, or you can “like” my Facebook page here and receive new posts
in your news stream.Once you like my
page, you can choose to see posts in your newsfeed first or receive a
notification for each post made.Thanks
for visiting!This post may contain
affiliate links.

Week 3: Get Ready To Invest

Open your 401(k) and Roth IRA -- even with just $50

I am reading I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi.This book provides a 6-week step-by-step guide to getting your finances in order to become rich.

Week 1 focused on optimizing your credit.Week 2 focused on opening and optimizing your bank account.Week 3 focuses on teaching you to get ready to invest.This chapter will discuss why you should invest and the best way to start investing your money and how to set up the process in a week.THE WHYA millionaire is not a person who makes $1 million or more per year. A millionaire is someone who's net worth is $1 million or more.On average, millionaires invest 20 percent of their household income each year. Their wealth isn't measured by the amount they make each year, but by how much they've saved and invested over time. Investing is the single most effective way to get rich!THE HOWStep 1: If your employer offers a 401(k) match, invest to take full advantage of it and contribute just enough to get 100% of the match. This is free money and there is, quite simply, no better deal.Step 2: Pay off your credit card and any other debt (excluding any primary home loans you may have outstanding). If you can't pay this off immediately, set up a plan to pay off your debt within a specific amount of time.Step 3:Open up a Roth IRA and contribute as much money as possible to it, up to the maximum allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.Step 4: If you have money left over, go back to your 401(k) and contribute as much as possible to it, up to the maximum allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.Step 5: If you still have money left to invest, open a regular nonretirement account and put as much as possible there. Also, pay extra on any mortgage debt you have, and consider investing in yourself: Whether it's starting a company or getting an additional degree, there's often no better investment than your own career.*Please note that my philosophy varies slightly from what Ramit suggests in his book. My how, which takes into account Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps, would be the following.Step 1: If your employer offers a 401(k) match, invest to take full advantage of it and contribute just enough to get 100% of the match. This is free money and there is, quite simply, no better deal.Step 2: Pay off your credit card and any other debt (excluding any primary home loans you may have outstanding). If you can't pay this off immediately, set up a plan to pay off your debt within a specific amount of time.Step 3:Open up a Roth IRA and contribute as much money as possible to it, up to the maximum allowed by the Internal Revenue Service, but no more than 15% (minus the % you have already contributed to 401(k)) of your income.Step 4: If you have money left over, go back to your 401(k) and contribute as much as possible to it, up to the maximum allowed by the Internal Revenue Service, but no more than 15% (minus the % you have already contributed to 401(k) and Roth IRA) of your income.Step 5: If you still have money left to invest, open a regular nonretirement account and put as much as possible there. Also, pay extra on any mortgage debt you have, and consider investing in yourself: Whether it's starting a company or getting an additional degree, there's often no better investment than your own career.5a: If you have children, open an ESA or 529 plan to save for their college education. If not, skip to 5b.5b: Use all extra money to pay off your home early. If you don't have a mortgage, skip to 5c.5c: Open a regular nonretirement account and put as much as possible there. Also, consider investing in yourself: Whether it's starting a company or getting an additional degree, there's often no better investment than your own career.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

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Friday, December 25, 2015

May the New Year bring
joy, laughter and good health to you and your family!

And the winner of the black 2016 Passion Planner (size: compact) is.........

STEPHANIE B.

Congratulations, Stephanie! I will be contacting you shortly to arrange for delivery of the prize package.

Thank you to everyone who entered the drawing, shared the post and liked my page. I am so happy that all of you participated. Thank you for your support. Look for updates and additional prize drawings in the coming year.

Monday, December 21, 2015

I just received two compact (5.5"x8.5")Passion Planners in the mail over the weekend and want to give away one copy before the beginning of 2016.

The Passion Planner is a weekly planner that helps people break down their long and short terms goals into more actionable steps and gives them a place to incorporate these steps into their daily lives.

To learn more about the Passion Planner, visit their website at http://www.passionplanner.com.To enter my contest to win a Passion Planner, do the following by Thursday, 24 December 2015 at 11:59pm:1) Fill out the entry form here.2) Like my Facebook page here.3) Invite others to do the same.*You may only enter the giveaway one time.....unless someone you refer also enters the giveaway and enters your name into the "Referred by" box on the entry form.Why am I doing this? Because I have more Passion Planners than I can use. Because I brought my very first Passion Planner in the beginning to 2015 and I absolutely loved it. Because I'd rather give my extra planner away to someone who'd actually love to have one. Because giving something away is actually on my Christmas list. Because I thought is was a great idea to do on my blog.I will be announcing the winner on my blog on December 25th, 2015. It is my Christmas present to you. I plan to mail the Passion Planner shortly after, so that I can try to get it to the winner before New Years Day.